Life and History of Dominican President Jacobo Majluta

Life and History of Dominican President Jacobo Majluta

Jacobo Majluta Azar is a former president of the Dominican Republic. Azar’s political career never reached the level he desired as he only served as president for 42 days. For the most part, his political career was marked by disappointment and switching of party affiliation. Despite a limited time as president, Majluta Azar is a well-known political figure from the Dominican Republic in the last 100 years.

Life Before Being President

Born in 1934, Majluta Azar studied finance at the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo before working as an accountant in both the financial and state sectors. Majluta Azar began his political career in earnest in 1961 when he joined the Dominican Revolutionary Party. He rose quickly through the party’s ranks after the assassination of Leonida Trujillo, eventually reaching an esteemed position in Juan Bosch’s short-lived government. Following a military coup in 1963, Majluta Azar went into exile until 1978 when he garnered the PRD Parties nomination for Vice President.

Life As President

Following a four-year term as Vice President of the Dominican Republic spanning from 1978-1982, Majluta Azar became president of the DR following the suicide of Antonio Guzman in 1982. Unfortunately due to a variety of conflicts with others in power within the country, Majluta Azar only served as president for 42 days. Among the various conflicts that categorized Majluta Azar’s time in office were issues with the more social wing of the PRD party, as well as issues with corruption relating to his time as head of CORDE, one of the largest state sector companies in the country. Majluta Azar hoped to hold on to the presidency after his assent to the position in 1982, but lost the 1982 presidential election to Salvador Jorge Blanco.

Life After Being President

After losing the 1982 presidential election, Majluta Azar became head of the senate. Within this role he consistently battled his main political rival, the aforementioned Salvador Jorge Blanco, and used his role in the senate to block Blanco’s policies. After losing the 1982 election, Majluta Azar did not give up on his presidential ambitions losing by a narrow margin to Joaquin Balaguer. Not taking his loss in the 1986 election lightly, Majluta Azar demanded a recount of the 1986 election, a move, which ultimately led to his removal from the PRD party in 1987.

In 1989, Majluta Azar formed his own political party, the Independent Revolutionary Party for the specific purpose of being elected president of the country. While the Independent Revolutionary Party never significantly challenged the preexisting political parties in the DR, Majluta Azar won 7% of the popular vote in 1990.

After 1990, Majluta Azar would never again seriously challenge for the office of President. He died in Tampa, Florida in 1996 at the age of 61, living behind his wife Ana Elise Villanueva and one daughter. While he is arguably one of the great political figures of the DR from the 20th, Century Majluta Azar will mostly be remembered for his inability to secure the presidency of the country.